Zucchini Bread -- When the Simplest Food Says Everything

March 2023. Spring in Memphis, and I am 64, watching the azaleas and dogwoods bloom along my neighborhood walk, the annual resurrection that makes the winter worth surviving. The smoker wakes up in spring the way the whole city wakes up — slowly, with a stretch, then fully, with purpose.

Tyrone came over for dominoes, bringing his competitive spirit and his inability to play without cheating, and the evening was full of the brotherly banter that is our love language.

I made cornbread in the cast iron skillet — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, the recipe that goes back to Mama and before Mama to her mama and before that to wherever the tradition began. Baked at 425 until golden and crusty, the edges dark and lacy, the center soft and crumbling. Some weeks cornbread is enough. Some weeks the simplest food is the most profound.

The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening settling over Orange Mound, the smoker cooling in the backyard. The fire was banked but not out — it's never out, just resting between cooks, holding the heat the way I hold the tradition: carefully, permanently, with the understanding that what Uncle Clyde gave me is not mine to keep but mine to pass, and the passing is the purpose.

That evening with Tyrone and the cornbread reminded me that the best food doesn’t require ceremony—just intention and good ingredients. Later that week, when the garden started pushing up more zucchini than I knew what to do with, I turned to another simple loaf, the kind you mix by hand in one bowl and slide into the oven without much fuss. This zucchini bread has that same unhurried quality as the cornbread: humble, honest, and exactly what it needs to be.

Zucchini Bread

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup neutral oil (such as avocado or vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini), excess moisture squeezed out
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan lightly with oil or butter and set aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly combined.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined—do not overmix. Fold in the shredded zucchini and nuts, if using.
5. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50–55 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 200mg